US2139754A - Knitting machine - Google Patents

Description

Dec. 13, I938. w, L HQU EMAN 2,139,754

' KNITTING MACHINE Filed April 2'7, 1935 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 m rm rae n m a W m M L w W Deep. 13, 1938. w. L. HOUSEMAN 39,75

KNITTING MACHINE Filed April 27, 1935 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 X770 A fyf.

1938- w. L. HOUSEMAN 2,139,754

' I KNITTING MACHINE Filed April 27, 1955 V 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 4/70 was.

. -'Ifhis invention 'relatesto a circular knitting- Patented Dec. 13, 1938 Q I WiIb'ur'L. fiouseman,

Maplewood; 1., assignor to Standard Trump Bros. Machine Company, i Laconia, N. .11., a corporationof Delaware- Application April 27,1935, Serial n 18,498

:14 ,(CL so-14o) machine and has particular reference to mechanism for handling yarns in the'production of" 1 horizontal stripes.. a

,- i It is common practicerwhen makingstripes and cut the yarns asthey are withdrawn. This results in a stocking having a'great number of ends of (yarns where the yarns are both inserted and withdrawn. A muchneater result is ob- 1 Qtained if the yarnsare not clamped and cut but are controlled while inactive by take up sweeps.

so that when they are reinserted. only one float is visible on the inside of the fabric, extending practically vertically from the needle on which a yarn was .last knit to the needle where it was again inserted. It isthe: broad object of the present invention to provide-means for accomclamping and cutting means used in the-knitplishing this latter typeof operation, insuring also the definite entering .of the yarns on a given ri needle and the definite removal'on-anothernee-' die, .for example two'needles behind the first mentionedneedle. It'is a further-object of the invention to' provide anarrangement which, while avoiding theclamping and cutting of the strip-'- ing yarns during the formation of a leg-or foot portion of the stocking, will neverthelessprovide for properly clamping ,and' cuttingv them when,

for example, a heel or toe is knit; 1 These and other more specific objects of th invention will become apparent "from thetfollowing description read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which:

Fig. 1 is a diagrammatic developed view-showing ,needles, associated cams and yarnv fingers and otherdevices adjacent a yarn feeding point. 7 Fig. 2 is a fragmentary radial sectiontaken adjacent the yarn feeding point as indicated at 2-4 in Fig. 1. Fig 3-1's a fragmentary plan view showing a j ting machine embodying the invention.

. Fig. 4 is a transverse section of the same.

. Fig. 5 is a side elevation controls; and

Fig. 6 is a plan view of the take-up devices.

needle cylinder in 51 5. uiniwhich-slide'latch is provided with an extension which-serves needles 4 provided with butts' 6. iCooperating with these needles for the formationiof'stitches are conventional sinkers 8. Yarns areifed' tothe needles by 'yarn fingerscomprising, forexample; two striping yarn carrying fingers I0 and Hand Q'other fingers. carrying additional yarns which may be incorporated in various parts of a; stocking. It will be clear, of course, that more than two striping yarn fingers may be used. The V8.-.; rious yarn fingers arecontrolled bysuitahle pattern .devices which are diagrammatically indi-..

the stocking by frequent "yarnchanges, to clamp the yarn'to be removed rises so as to missthe'needlemoving lower than the v of the knitting machine i showingparticularly the take-up sweeps and the cated in Fig. 2 "'Ijhe particular controlling means forthe'fingers form 119 partoi the present invention. The 'yarnsare' fed through the opening 16 in the latch ring in'the usual fashion.

cams of conventional type serve to control the needles for the formation 01' stitches. These cams-include'the stitch cams l8 and 122, the

upper center cam 20 and'the lower center cam 24. "Jacks 23 provided with butts are raised by. a jack camliiv andflowered bya lower cam face-on the, lower center cam '24. The number of .jacks which is used depends upon the desired overlap-of'the striping yarns. 'In general,

an overlap of threeneedlesis sufficient. and accordingly three jacks 28 arejillustrated, located below the needles in the needle slots; The jacks 28 are maintained in the slotsby a circular ring, i 01 earns. As the jacks '28 ride up. the cam 26 they serve to raise the needles associated with them'to a level above'the otherneedles at the yarn-taking position. As a result of this and the fashion in whichthe striping'yarnsare' presented to the needles, the yarns a'rei'definitely taken by the high-riding needles withfa result that the striping yarns go into action on-these needles. The arrangement is also suchfthat thewyarns are removed from the last of this set 'of needles by reason of the fact that as the finger carrying the yarn is raised last of the raised set; 1 v k u c The proper insertion 01a striping yarn on the first of the raised'nee'dles is efie ctedibyjthe use of a'sloping wire indicated at I3ll whichis carried 'by the'bracket '32' acting as afsupport .for' they clamping and cutting .me'chanism. The wire is so positioned immediately inside the needle-circle that the yarns ride down it as the yarn fingers move into action in such fashion'that while they are above the needles whichare riding at normal levels, they are engaged by. the needles which have been raised by the jacks. v f

' The clamping and cutting means is substantially of'convention'al type and'isheres'hown as of the typeidescribed inmy Patent 1,4 2,551,

dated July, 24, 1923. The presentclamplng and cuttin mechanism differs from that of thev at- The circular knitting m'achine.comprises a g p out only by'rea'son ofthe fact that the clamp 36 a "to engage ,a striping yarn as it. istaken out of action to preventv its being' dra ged 'into the clamping means. Besides the clamp 36, which" is adapted to. be opened against the action; of its spring by apattern-controlled lever 46 lifted throughthe rod 4,8 .contro1led .by cams on the moyableblade H. "The movable bladefl'isalso controlled by the lever 46 as described in my patent.

, To secure proper handling of the striping yarns during their periods of inaction, it is necessary to provide take-up sweeps for them in addition to the main sweep or sweeps which control the, yarns used in reciprocatory knitting. Apost 50 supports a bracket 52 on which the take-up sweeps and associated elements are mounted. The take-up sweeps for the two striping yarns,

herein disclosed,v are illustrated at 54 and 56, while the main take-up sweep used during recip rocatory knitting is indicated at 58. Each of these sweeps receives its yarn from the supply throughsuitable guide eyes and tensions 60. The 1 various sweeps are normally urged toward raised position by springs 62.

' The main take-up sweep 58.1s held in lower" position during rotary knitting by a plunger.

controlled by a lever 65 whic h is'acted upon by cams on the main cam disc.v When the plunger 64 releases the main sweep 58 .for acreciprocatory knitting, thereby insuring that the tion', a bracket 68 carried by it engages the tails of the sweeps 54 and 56 moving themupward to positions limited/by stops 10. The plunger 64, either'by its weight or by theprovision of suitable springs insures that the sweeps 54 and 56 are maintained in their'raised position during yarns are not pulled out of the clamping means when the clamping means is opened to release;

the heel andftoe yarn.

During rotary knitting of the leg or foot of a stocking in which striping is taking place, the fingers lil and l2 are'alternately lowered into action..

The yarn from the raisedffinger, during the for- V mation ofsuch portions of the stocking, is drawn through thefinger as the cylinder revolves. In the ordinary type of machine this action would result in such'yarns being drawn into the clamping and cutting mechanism. 7 In the present case, however,

the extension 38 of the clamping lever 36 engages the yarn,whichextends between the last loop in which it"was knit formed by the trailing oneof the three raised needles and the raised yarn finger, and serves to deflect it in such fashion that it will pass below the bevelled edge of the disc 34.

The action of the corresponding sweep 54 or .55

controls it so as to maintain it in taut condition to prevent its accidentally becoming engaged and broken byany partof the mechanism. When a I striping yarn change takes place, the finger carrying the yarn which is to go into action causes it to ride down thefwire 30 in position to be engaged by the first of the raised needles. Immediately thereafter, the finger holding the yarn which was being knit will be raised and itsyarn will be withdrawn from the last of the raised needles.

Such 'action, without the operation of. the clamping'and cutting means, takes place during the? raised needles. As the laststriping yarn is raised, it, together with the yarn trailing from the striping finger which is already raised, will pass below the clamp 38 andspring clamp 40 and asthe first reciprocation proceeds will" enter the cutter to be immediately thereafter 'cut. Simultaneously with the introduction of :the. heel yarn, the takeup sweep 58 is permitted to become active. The downward movement of the rod 64, which effects this, raises the sweeps 54 and 55., The striping yarns are not at this time clamped but are still running to the fabric. Sufiicient yarn.is drawn from the supplies to take care of this motion of the sweeps if either of them is not already in its uppermost position. As a consequence of the fact that the take-up sweeps are thereafter in their raised positions (which they will retain even after rod64 'is'again raised and until their respective yarns are again seized by the ncedles), they will not exert any pull on the striping yarns when the clamp is next opened to permit a yarn change, the

striping yarns being held by the spring clamp 40 during the opening'of clamp 38'. If'the sweeps were notin theirraised position, it is obvious that at the end of reciprocatory knitting, when one of the striping yarns was again to bereinserted and the clamp '38 was opened, the other yarn might be snapped by its sweep out of the clamping and cutting means so as not'to be reinsertablea It is obvious thatfollowing reciprocatory knitmove under the disc 34 so as not to be engaged by the clamping and cutting elements. I

ting the striping yarns may be successively brought into action at..the propertimes and will If an extended toe is being knit, the toe yarn will be inserted to form it and the striping yarns will be clamped and out. 'Th'eir sweeps, however, will still be'under tension until themachine starts reciproca'tory knitting. Since the toe ya'rn is used for the extended toe, the clamp will not open at the transition from rotaryto reciprocatory' knit-t ting and will continue to hold the striping yarns as-the sweeps 54 and 56 are'raised'by the depression of the rod 84. It is found that the clamps 35 and will hold the yarns during-such'action.

Although one control is shown forall three.

sweeps, it is obvious that two or e'ven three separate controls could be used if, iforinstame, the

striping yarns should, for any reason, befclamped and cut during the leg-knitting at aitime when the heel yarn sweep would not be released.

It'will be clear that variations in the invention '1 may be made without departing from the scope of the invention as defined in the following claims:

What I claim and desire to protect by Letters Patent is:

1. A knitting machine including a circle of needles, a cylinder slidably supportingsaid needles,

clamping and cutting means inside the needle circle, means for alternately feeding at'least two yarns to the needles at the same feed point, means for taking, up a yarn which is not knitting but which extendsto the fabric while its' end connected to the fabric makes a'substantially comple terevolution relative to the feeding means, and'means for deflecting such idle yarn-beneath the clamping 1 and cutting means to'avoid engagement thereby.

2. A knitting machine including a circle of needles; a cylinderslidably supporting said needles; means for alternately feeding at least twoyarns to the needles at the same feed point, means for differentiating during a single rotation of: the cylinder asmall group of adjacent needles from others preceding and following the group as they pass the feed point to ca-usethe yarnsto enter on the firstneedle of the group'and goout of action from the last needle of the group, and means forguiding the yarns "to. said group of needles to cause yarns from feeding mea'n'siocated in difierent'active positions to move sub- I stantially identically downwardly relatively to the needle circle between needles thereof when going into action, whereby a definite overlap corresponding to the width of the group is provided.

3. A knitting machine including a circle of needles, a cylinder slidably supporting said needles, means for alternately feeding at least two yarns to the needles at the same feed point in one por-' tion of a fabric, means for taking up a yarn which is not knitting, but which is connected to the fabric, during the formation of said portion of the fabric, and means for clamping said yarns during the formation of another portion of the fabric.

4. A knitting machine including a circle of needles, a cylinder slidably supporting said needles, means for alternately feeding at least two yarns to the needles at the same feed point in one portion of a fabric, means for taking up a yarn which is not knitting during the formation of said portion of the fabric, means for clamping said yarns duringthe formation of another portion of the fabric, and means for relieving take-up strain on said yarns while they are clamped.

5. A knitting machine including a circle of needles, a cylinder slidably supporting said needles, means for alternately feeding at least two yarns to the needles at the same feed point in one portion of a fabric, means for taking up a yarn which is not knitting during the formation of said portion of the fabric, means for clamping said yarns during the formation of another portion of the fabric, and means for relieving take-up strain on said yarns prior to their being clamped and cut.

6. A knitting machine including a circle of needles, a cylinder slidably supporting said needles, means for alternately feeding at least two yarns to the needles at the same feed point in one portion of a fabric, means for taking up a yarn which is notknitting during the formation of said portion of the fabric, means for clamping said yarns during the formation of another portion of the fabric, and means for relieving take-up strain on said yarns after they are clamped and cut and prior to subsequent opening of the clamp.

7. A knitting machine including a circle of needles, a cylinder slidably supporting said needles, means for alternately feeding at least two yarns to the needles at the same feed point in one portion of a fabric, means for taking up a yarn which is not knitting during the formation of said portion of the fabric, means for clamping. said yarns during the formation of another portion of the fabric, and means for effecting positioning of the take-up means at the take-up limit while the yarns are clamped.

8. A knitting machine including a circle of needles, 9. cylinder slidably supporting said needles, means for alternately feeding at least two yarnsto the needles at the same feed point, and means for guiding the yarns to said needles to cause yarns from feeding means located in different active positions to move substantially identically downwardly between the needles when going into action and prior to engagement by a needle whereby the yarns are caused to enter on the same needle.

9. A knitting machine including a circle of needles, a cylinder slidably supporting said needles, means for alternately feeding a plurality of yarns to the needles at the same feed point in one portion of a fabric to produce limited overlaps thereof where one is taken out of and the other brought into action, means for taking up any of such plurality of yarns while it is not knitting and while, during knitting of another of said yarns in said portion of fabric, it extends from the feeding means to the last loop formed plurality of yarns to the needles at the same feed point in one portion of a fabric to produce limited overlaps thereof where one is taken out of and the other brought into action, means for taking up any of such plurality of yarns while it is not knitting and while it extends to the fabric during the formation of said portion of fabric, and means for deflectingsuch idle yarn beneath the clamping and cutting means-to avoid engagement thereby and while it is under the control of said take up means.

11. A knitting machine including a circle'of needles, a cylinder slidably supporting said needles, means for alternately feeding at least two yarns to the needles at the same feed point in one portion of a fabric, each of the two yarns being fed to the needles in each alternation to enter one or more substantially complete courses, means for taking up throughout the formation of one or more substantially complete courses a yarn which is not knitting during the formation of the fabric, and means for clamping said yarns during the formation of another portion of the fabric.

12..A knitting machine including a circle of needles, a cylinder slidably supporting said needles, means for alternately feeding at'least two yarnsto the needles at the same feed point in one portion of a fabric, means for introducing both yarns on the same needle and for removing them from another needle following by a relatively short distance the first mentioned needle to produce a limited overlap of the leaving and entering yarns, means for taking up in said portion of the fabric ayarn which is not knitting and which extends continuously from the feeding means to the fabric, and means for clamping said yarns during the formation of another portion of the fabric.

13. A knitting machine including a circle of needles, a cylinder slidably supporting said needles, means for alternately feeding at least two yarns to the needles at the same feed point, and means fixedly located with respect to the feeding means providing a guiding edge over which the yarns slide when going into action to cause yarns from feeding means located in different active positions to move substantially identically relatively to the needle circle downwardly between the needles when going into action and prior to engagement by a needle whereby the yarns are caused to enter on the same needle.

14. A knitting machine including a circle of needles, a cylinder slidably supporting said needles, means relatively to which the cylinder rotates for alternately feeding at least two yarns to the needles at the same feed point, and means inside the needle circle and closely adjacent thereto for guiding the portion of an entering yarn adjacent the needle circle prior to its 'engagement by a needle downwardly in a predetermined path extending generally lengthwise of the axis of said cylinder whereby the yarns are caused to enter on the same needle.

WlLBUR L. HOUSEMAN.

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